Tire Problem, Ideas?

[Tatunka]

I recently installed a set of wheels (18x9, 0 offset) and tires (BFG All-Terrain 275/70r18).  After installation I had a really bad vibration, like the tires weren't balanced, from about 45-65.  I had the local Nissan dealer, which is about 40 minutes away, balance the set during an oil change/warranty work and they came out worse than before. So not having the time to go back I took them to a local tire place and was told that it could be a road force variation and should be balanced on a special machine. Did that, same problem but way less vibration; did it again, no change; the tire shop says to warranty the tires that are the worst, they do that and I get two new tires on the front, still vibrating and now there is a pull to the right! Grrrrr.

 

I am going to try a different shop with a newer Hunter GSP9700 and have them try.  I might also trade fronts and rears to see if there is any difference.    This has been very frustrating to say the least, I have had five sets of BFG's on different trucks and have never had a problem like this.

 

I guess my question is, has anyone ever experienced this type of vibration that comes and goes at different speeds? And how did you remedy it?  I am assuming it is the tires/wheels that are the problem because the OEM set rode perfect, should I be looking elsewhere?

[Decades]

Tatunka,

     I'm no expert, but wouldn't a pull indicate an alignment issue?  I know Quigley does an alignment after the install, is it possible you did something to throw it out of whack?  Is there a place that you could go with a level concrete pad to do a rough check?

     Unless the tread is getting damaged and missing chunks, I would think that any gross balance issues would be found by the shop- I've had a rim that was bent and couldn't be balanced properly once, and the shop identified it with their machine.  I would also not rule out a defect on a wheel- if the surface where the studs or where the hub mates to the wheel is machined wrong, torqueing down the nuts may cause the wheel to be off of the plane of the hub.  I think that would cause a wobble, but not a pull.

     You may want to check your brakes- there may be a problem with one that could cause the pull.  I don't know if the ABS would flash if there was one, but it could also be an emergency brake problem, too.  If you have a infrared thermometer you can identify if there is one brake that is pulling.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Decades

[vanguy]

I was thinking the same thing as Tatunka. If you had different tires & still the same problem, it might be the wheels are out of round.

 

Did you have the problem with the factory wheels?

[Tatunka]

Thanks for the quick advice,

 

So yesterday I pulled off the front tires/wheels and put on the OEM wheels and tires, and the wobble and the pull was gone! So then I put on the left side and no wobble or pull either.  So I have isolated the problem to the right front tire/wheel combo. So now I have to take it in to the shop so they can verify that the wheel is out of round, which they should have already found!, and get a different wheel.  Frustrating because I specifically told the shop to check the wheels for roundness, I hate doing somebody elses job after giving specific instructions. But I am glad I did! Now to the shop. Thanks guys.

[vanguy]

Problems like that can drive you crazy. Glad you found the problem. You expect something new to work the way it was intended. 

[Tatunka]

The good news: I know which wheel is causing the vibration.

 

The bad news: The shop visit didn't fix it and the wheel tested round.

 

I think I might know why. The new wheels are lug-centric and I didn't think about it until today :banghead: , so using a machine like the hunter will take away most of the imbalance but wont take all of the imbalance out with out using a lug adapter.  Now sometimes the center bore will be centered enough with the lug hole that the wheel will balance fine, but sometimes the center bore doesn't and you will need to balance with the adapter.  The OEMs are hub-centric with acorn lug nuts and won't have this problem. 

 

Now I have to make sure the shop balanced the wheels to the lugs or to the bore..., good times.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Tatunka

[Tatunka]

So my ongoing saga with my vibration problem... I went to the dealer to have my oil changed and the door lock problem fixed, and being annoyed with the tire shop, my tires balanced and rotated.  The dealer said that they think it is a front drive shaft misalignment, but needed to talk to Quigley about the problem first so they gave it back to me.  While driving the problem is 90% gone just a slight vibration starting at 45mph to about 75mph, so thats where I am at.

 

My question to you guys with other tire/wheel combos is: did you guys have any problems?

 

And to all, anybody experience a misaligned drive shaft?

 

Thanks

[axulsuv]

The driveshaft should have the same angle from shaft thru ujoint to flange at both ends to stop any harmonics from developing and causing a vibration . alot of lifted 4x4's run into this issue , and is your driveshaft rotating in 2WD. ? or is it a auto engage system ? What kind of front axle engagement does the Quigley use ?

 As a last resort , remove the front driveshaft if possible without loosing fluid from transfer case , (aka slip yoke and not a bolt on flange ..) and test drive to see if the problem goes away or changes .

Good Luck ! :)

Glenn 

[Tatunka]

SOLVED!

 

It turns out that the first ( a place I have been going to for many years) and second (random pick of the day) tire shops and the dealer all really suck at balancing tires apparently.  So the two tire shops balance the tires about 12 times between the two, still vibrated. So I go to the dealer for some other repairs and have them balance the tires while they have the van, still vibrates. The dealer comes back and says that they suspect that the drive shafts are misaligned, I inform them that it didn't vibrate like this before the tires were installed, they didn't care and told me to contact the place that installed the 4x4.  So I walked away and turned around and said "Hi, I need to have the front of my 4x4 NV checked out." They looked puzzled, so I had to inform them that they sold me the van with the 4x4 installed and it is under Nissan's warranty. Silence. Anyway they tore the front end apart and put it back together and then told me that the wheels are out of round. Crap, so I try hub rings to align the wheels back to center, doesn't help. Well one last try I call Discount Tire in Minnetonka and ask if they have the correct lug centric adapter, they said they did so I went and told the guys about my problem. They told me to give them an hour and I would be good as new, I said I'll believe it when I see it. The manager came out and asked who had balanced the tires before because the weights were all screwed up with weights counter balancing other weights. They gave me the keys, and off I went to the highway to test it out, absolutely SMOOTH! I couldn't believe it, after 6 months of playing games, the van is back to normal.

[axulsuv]

Don't some of the "techs" out there today just make you cringe ....

 Thats why after 35-40 years of twisting a wrench for a living , all I do these days is restore old British Iron , The kids don't want to do that ,'cause you only get one shot to get it correct !